Colosseum
After an overnight stay in Orvieto, Umbria, we rode several hours into Rome with our tour bus. Arriving about 4 pm, we had some free time.
Getting together with some fellow travelers we walked from our hotel to the Colosseum to see it by night. It paid off, what a wonderful sight
The Colosseum is an ancient amphitheater that originally held games. Fights were usual between animals or humans and animals, or just humans. In addition to the fighting which ended often bloody, there were also performances by acrobats, flute players and other artists.
The often gruesome games were forbidden in the year 404 AD. by Emperor Honorius.
Today, the Colloseum is one of Rome’s most famous sights. It is a truly stately monument that belongs to the new Seven Wonders of the World.
During the Flavian dynasty between 69-96 AD. The Flavian Amphitheater (as the Colosseum is also called) was built by Emperor Vespasian. The theater was used for various games, during which thousands of people and animals were killed during these bloody games.
In the fifth century AD, the theater decayed – just like the rest of Rome. It was looted by barbarians and damaged by natural disasters. The Colosseum became a quarry in the Middle Ages. Anyone who wanted to build a house made use of the stones of the Coliseum. Among other things, St. Peter’s Basilica was built with stones from the Colosseum.
When Pope Benedict XIV declared the Colosseum a consecrated site in the 18th century, the looting stopped. Pope Pius VII later had the outer walls supported. This work was continued by later popes.
Colosseum in Rome measurements:
Circumference: over 520 meters
The Facade is almost 50 meters high.
Width: 155 meters
Length: 188 meters
There are 80 Entrances
The Foundation consists of concrete, bricks and tufa.
The Colosseum accommodated more than 50,000 visitors.
The original floor was a sandy bottom, it was later replaced by a wooden floor.
I recommend to get something like this:
